Dramatic, thrilling, and beautiful parkland golf. 

Carved through a former strip mine, the course is an unapologetically bold routing through lakes, hollows, and rugged terrain. Fazio didn’t tiptoe around the site’s unusual features, he leaned in. The result is a relentless procession of watery hazards, forced carries, and elevated greens that demand your full attention but also are exhilarating when you execute. 

The tee shot on the 2nd, around a corner of the river guarded by mature trees, or the approach into the 3rd which moves 90-degress right from the fairway, are so beautifully carved they paint shot shapes into your psyche. Many of the holes are long, tight, and claustrophobic, especially the 6th, 14th, and 18th, but the penalizing surroundings are so stunning it is easy to love the demanding design. My favorite stretch is 14-16, with elevation change and wild fairways tumbling up and down to precarious greens. For me, there isn’t more fun to be had on a course than the excitement of that par-4, par-5, par-3 stretch. 

Walking here is practically off the table, the routing wasn’t made for it, and the distances between holes confirm it. But the playing surfaces are superb with bunkers that are deep, gnarly, and precisely placed. The whole course feels like a high-wire act, riveting from start to finish. If you like Fazio as an artist, Victoria has an argument as his visual masterpiece.